Date: Fri, 3 Feb 1995 07:20:43 -0600 (CST) From: Kevyn Jacobs ---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: Rex Rivers Subject: GAY NUDIST GROUP GAY NUDIST GROUP FORMING IN WICHITA Nudist clubs exclusively for gay male adults have significantly increased in recent years in a growth phenomenon that has gone largely unnoticed. The male nudist club is today one of the most important factors in gay liberation. Members of male nudist clubs have a common philosophy. Namely the acceptance of the nude body as normal and the right to express that belief in a natural, non-sexual setting. Within this context they reject government mandate to cover up, for these orders contribute to poor boy image and lack of self-acceptance. If you truly enjoy nakedness and believe in healthy, nude living, and if the thought of being nude with other nude men intrigues you, you owe it to yourself to seek out and join a nudist organization or club, for the enriching experience such a group will unquestionably furnish. In day to day lives male nudists are not different from other men. Nudists are representative of the general public. Nudists are found in every profession and in all ages, ethnic groups and religions. All these diversities come together, sharing one common philosophy, to raise the level of understanding and perception of ourselves through clothes-optional living. Although nudist clubs for men are only a few years old, nudism is not a radical, new idea. In ancient cultures non-sexual, social nudism was commonly practiced. More recently, our forefathers practiced nude swimming. By the 1840s nude swimming was popular on Europe's beaches. In the USA, John Adams, the man who proposed the appointment of George Washington as the first president, was known to take time off to swim nude publicly in the Potomac River. Under the concept of decency of the Victorian Church in England body freedom was ended. Being naked was a sin! It was such a sin that even piano legs were considered indecent and had to be covered. In the early 1900s rebellion against the Victorian control was underway. Starting in Long Island, New York, men began to protest the laws which stated that men had to cover their chests at all times. In the early 1930s men by the thousands protested and went topless on New York beaches. In 1936 the law was changed, allowing men to show their nipples in public. Men went topless. The trend towards body acceptance has grown ever since and the popularity of nudism has increased each year so much that today most nations have officially designated clothes-optional beaches. Countries that do not have designated clothes-optional beaches are the USA, China, Iran and Iraq. In the United States it is the government that is so strongly against healthy, nude living, for poll after poll shows a positive acceptance of naturism in the United States. A 1983 Gallop poll showed a full 72% agreeing with the statement "People who enjoy nude bathing should be able to do so at beaches accepted for that purpose." While the public clearly accepts the naturist lifestyle the United States government continues to reflect a view more in line with the Victorian Church of England. Only Oregon within the State Park System and the Austin municipal pool in Texas have clothes-optional sections. The main reason the United Stated government is against nudism is the fact that the government associates nudity with sexual promiscuity. While casual sex and nudity can -- and do -- occur together, they should be separated by a wide behavioral gulf. There is absolutely no correlation between being nude and being immoral. Putting on clothes does not make one moral, taking them off is not a sin! In any club of intelligent male nudists there will develop an acceptance that the body has many functions, and that sex is one of them. The important point is that nudists can handle sexual situations without distress or offense. True nudists can accept group nudity under any and all circumstances, even those of sexual arousal. We see nudity, but not obsessively. We accept nudity as normal in all its facets. Differences in genital sizes are noted only as differences in height or weight. A penis the size of a lump of sugar should cause its possessor no shame, inasmuch as it and he are accepted on an equal basis with the more emphatic organ of a fellow nudist whose endowment recommends him as a potential porno star. A roaring hard-on is not a threat, but perhaps an occasion for a compliment. Exhibitionists who would, if they could, turn nudism into show business, are accepted like everyone else and soon realize that the prowess need not always be on display, but may be reserved for special moments of personal gratification. Nudists regard all activities of the nude body as another fact of life, another detail of being alive. Nudists have learned to cope with nudity, it does not control us. We have given consciences to our hard-ons, they do what we want them to do, not the other way around. One definite reason for seeking out and joining a nudist club is supported by our experience of finding our best friends, both gay and non-gay, among men when they are naked together. Who does not remember and regret the passing of nude swimming at the YMCA? If your YMCA is still traditional and allows you to swim nude, you are lucky. The primary reason of the popularity of the male nudist club is that there are so many men, both gay and straight, who are wholesomely thrilled and healthily exhilarated by the nude experience. It is fun to go naked! Nudist clubs have received most of their applications for membership from men. Men more than women seem to enjoy nudity as a social experience. This creates a problem for the heterosexual nudist clubs. For gay society it not a problem, but indeed a blessing. Many gay men enjoy the nude experience most in the company of other men. Hence the proliferation of gay clubs for men who enjoy being naked in a group, who enjoy being naked not just for sex. A significant reason for the rapid growth of nude clubs for gays is the continuing pressure which most coed nudist clubs put on the single male. The single male has to pass the test of personality and behavior which are not required of others. He has to prove, usually in advance, that he is acceptable company. He is always on trial. He has to earn the rights of membership which are granted without question to others. All of these problems are compounded for the gay male. The nudist movement has not been free of homophobia. If the single male be a threat, how much more the single gay male! The nude club exclusively for gay males is a natural and logical response to these pressures. In being thus forced into a one-sex community the gay male nudist has an advantage over his non-gay counterpart in that an all-male club satisfies his psychological needs. There is an emotional reason for being nude in an all-male group. Male enjoyment of locker and showerroom nudity is a long standing phenomenon. The non-gay male may never be comfortable even in a non-sexual gay group, yet for both married and single, for gay and non-gay men, group nudity is warmly fulfilling. For the married man the opportunity to get away from family pressures and problems, the ability to be, at least for awhile, single again, may be the predominant psychological benefit. The temporary removal of any need to attract, or be attracted to, the female of the species, is for many non-gay men a welcome recess. The opportunity for male bonding, for being a man among men, are refreshing and satisfying. Male bonding is easiest completely nude, status symbols thus removed. Guys who enjoy being naked together feel attracted to each other, first because we are as yet a minority, which encourages bonding with the few others and further because of our shared feeling that nudism is the best way to enjoy life more. We believe that the true pleasures of life are not based on carousing, sexual promiscuity, greed, gluttony or cutthroat competition. There are greater values than those offered by the rat race. The pleasure of friendship, the joy of being balls naked together, are more important and ultimately more fulfilling than making that first million. Nudist club members participate in a variety of non-sexual activities; organized sports and nude recreation, wrestling, hiking, volleyball, "canuding", massage and square dancing. As nudists we know how sensual the skin can be, after all we expose all of it. Consequently we believe in massage, touching and caressing. We know the wonderful feeling of naked hugs. Touching involves non-verbal communication. It is through this medium that sexuality by mutual consent can be defined. There is a wonderful feeling in silent communication. Close your eyes and have someone's firm hands explore your body in gentle and safe ways. What you are feeling is no longer a touch from hands to body, but from heart to hears. If you are interested in the gay nudist group, call the Gay Information Line at 316-269-0913 for more information.